


Such Gentle Shapes

by lirin



Category: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Chocolate Box Treat, Con Artists, F/M, Pickpockets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22684228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/pseuds/lirin
Summary: The two things Charles Bingley thinks about the most are Darcy's fortune and Darcy's potential marriage to Caroline. Oh, and also that sweet shy little Bennet girl that Bingley has been affecting interest in. Jane is as truly boring as Bingley only pretends to be—or is she?
Relationships: Jane Bennet/Charles Bingley
Comments: 9
Kudos: 114
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Such Gentle Shapes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Etnoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etnoe/gifts).



> I loved your prompts for this pairing!

Matters with Darcy could be proceeding much worse than they were, Bingley reflected—though he ought to admit that they could also be proceeding much better. Caroline was too agreeable and short-sighted to be a very good seductress, which were character traits that Bingley might have appreciated if he'd truly been the ingenuous mild-mannered gentleman he claimed to be. But as it was, he wished his sister were either a better actress or a damned sight more interested in Darcy for himself (and not just his money).

Nonetheless, Darcy would have to get around to marrying eventually, and as long as Bingley prevented any more worthy candidates from presenting themselves, then when the time came, Darcy would no doubt decide that he liked Caroline well enough. After all, she was sister to Darcy's best friend. Darcy's most devoted friend, hanging about with him constantly for no other motive than simply the pleasure of Darcy's company. Darcy's stupid, rich, boring, spoiled company. Yes, as far as Darcy knew, that was certainly why Bingley was spending time with him. And Bingley knew well that he was a much better actor than his sister was. Darcy would never suspect a thing.

And neither would Miss Jane Bennet. Bingley was quite certain that he was doing a much better job of feigning whole-hearted interest in his selected object of his affections than Caroline was in hers. He had decided upon the eldest daughter of one of the neighborhood families, whose father had called upon him nearly as soon as he had settled at Netherfield. In rather a hurry to get acquainted, then, and with five daughters, the reason for his hurry was evident. He'd have no inducement to look too closely at a perfectly eligible suitor. And Jane herself was nice enough to look at, well-mannered, thoughtful—and utterly, utterly boring. 

But she would suffice for the time being. There was nothing better than talk of love to get a man's head to turn to thoughts of love. And so Bingley intended to chatter about love around Darcy all the damned time. How in love he was with lovely Jane Bennet and her silly little face and silly shy little prattle, such a perfect match for Bingley's own silly shy little demeanor that he had practiced for so long in front of a mirror until it was now truly perfection.

Another way to turn a man's head to love was to set him to dance with a willing partner—though this was likely to work less well with Darcy than with most, for he had no love of dancing. Yet at the very least, dancing would assist with Bingley's own apparent romantic aims, and so he arranged to host a ball. He reminded Caroline carefully of her duties, but he did not worry overmuch; she was the only unmarried woman Darcy had deigned to dance with at the last ball they had attended, and Bingley thought that pattern likely to continue.

At the ball itself, Bingley danced rather more dances with Miss Bennet than was strictly proper. If he kept this up, he'd have her busybody mother sniffing about for a proposal soon. But with any luck, they'd be gone from Netherfield before his or Jane's reputations were irretrievably ruined, and in the meantime, Jane was a perfectly competent dance partner.

It was nearing ten when Bingley decided he'd had enough and wandered off the dance floor to go find Darcy and recommend love and marriage some more. Or was it after ten by now? Bingley reached for his pocket-watch to ascertain which it was—but it had gone missing. He had last checked the time at quarter to nine, and he was sure he'd tucked it away securely. Since then, he'd been on the dance floor exclusively, dancing every dance with Jane, except for one with Miss Lucas for the sake of propriety. Nothing had bumped or prodded that side of his coat, except once when Jane—

Jane's hand has brushed so gently against his side when he had led her off of the dance floor, prior to the dance with Miss Lucas. Could she—could a young provincial gentleman's daughter have somehow gained an education in the art of finger-smithing?

"Mr. Bingley!" It was Jane herself, calling shyly after him. "Mr. Bingley, you must have dropped your watch. I found it under the punch table, and I knew it must be yours because of the engraving."

"No, I didn't," Bingley said, with a smile that was for once truly his own and not shy at all. "No, I really don't think I dropped it, and I don't think that's how you knew it was mine, either."

"Why, whatever could you be implying?" she said lightly, but her eyes sharpened.

"Do you wish me to answer that question here, where anyone might walk by, or"—he offered her his arm—"shall we go for a walk?"

She accepted his arm without another word, and they set off. Bingley kept an eye on her hands, but she didn't seem inclined to repeat her earlier undertaking. He resolved, despite that, to ascertain the location of his valuables before they parted ways.

Jane's posture was much more stiff than usual, and she remained quiet for some time. Only when the laughter of the party had died to a quiet hum and Netherfield Hall's lights were only a distant glow at the other end of the garden did she speak. "Mr. Bingley, I hope you don't think—"

"It was a skillful snatch," Bingley assured her. "I've never gone in for that sort of thing myself, but I've had some friends who did, and your ability is equal to any of theirs. I hadn't even noticed it was gone until just before you returned it to me."

Even in the soft moonlight, he could see her posture relax. "You know—then, you—"

"I've had a varied life," Bingley said. "I've learned a thing or two."

"Are you truly a gentleman?"

"I have some amount of money, which is almost the same thing, isn't it?" Bingley replied. "And if my sister marries Mr. Darcy, we'll have even more."

"If the entire purpose of your undertaking is to convince Mr. Darcy to marry your sister," Jane said, "you might have put forth a better candidate. He does not strike me as having any great affection for her."

"I had no other candidates, as Louisa was already married."

"They truly are your sisters, then? Not your, well—"

"Partners in crime?" Bingley asked with a chuckle. "Not that anything I am doing is criminal, of course. But yes, they are my sisters in truth."

"I was unsure—I had heard that some people pass off a lover as a sister—though I am glad you would not go so far as that."

"And then lose that lover forever when she married another?" He shook his head. "No, I have always had a romantic streak. Even though some of the things I've done might have been easier with a female associate—not Caroline; she lacks the requisites—but a true partner. But I am holding out for someone whom I can consider an equal. Or at least someone who has barrels full of money."

"Well, I'm certainly not the latter," Jane said. "My father's estate is entailed."

But perhaps she could be the former? Bingley had always feared that any woman he might actually like for herself would reject him out of hand, yet Jane had not. Though how could he like her for herself when he knew so little about her? She was not as calm and naïve as she feigned, that was certain. Who was she, really? "How did you learn to finger-smith?" he asked.

"Our maid when I was growing up was from London, from the East End," Jane said. "She had come here to make a fresh start, but before that, she had associated with a number of those who plied that trade. When I found out that she knew how, I asked her to teach me, for my own amusement. It is quite tedious, growing up as the eldest daughter of a family with no fortune, doomed to marry for money. I used to imagine running off to London and making my fortune through my own daring and wits."

"And have you had much opportunity to ply your skills, here in Hertfordshire?"

"If I were to practice too frequently, people might realize what the disappearances have in common. But I keep my hand in. Mostly I return what I take; as long as my father is alive, I am provided for well enough. But it's diverting, taking things right under people's noses when they have no suspicion. Is that why you do it?"

"Besides the money? Yes, I suppose so. As much as I do actually like Darcy, I enjoy knowing that I have a secret he will never guess. He thinks I'm too trusting, and yet he is the one who trusts more than he ought."

"Do you think you'll be successful in your aims? That he'll decide to marry your sister?"

"One can never be definite about such things until the license is obtained and the rings exchanged," Bingley replied. "But Darcy doesn't dislike her, and I don't believe he has any better options available to him, any more than I had better options available to present."

"Can you be certain of that? You know he danced with my sister Elizabeth earlier tonight—and I saw him looking at her many times throughout the evening."

Bingley shook his head. "At the Meryton assembly, he told me that she was not handsome enough to tempt him. He has had no such complaints of Caroline's appearance."

"It is not an insurmountable objection," Jane said. "You may have more competition than you bargained upon. And as you say, Mr. Darcy would be quite a nice person to have one's sister marry." Her gaze on him was steady.

Bingley smiled. "I like you," he said. "I've never met such a clever woman."

"My sister Elizabeth is quite clever as well," Jane said. "Though I would advise you not to turn your attentions to her."

"I assure you, all of my attentions are already fixed firmly in front of me." Bingley bowed and kissed her hand. "I don't have to marry for money; I've a comfortable enough fortune inherited from my father and supplemented by some of my own, er, business dealings. So perhaps if I have found that woman I was speaking of earlier, the one who could be my equal, then I wonder—"

"I'll still hope that my sister and not your sister is the one to marry the prize," Jane said.

"I would expect no less of you," Bingley said. He offered her his arm once again; as host, he could not be gone too long before he would be looked for, and he had no wish to soil Jane's reputation now that he liked her much better than he had at the start of the night. "May the best man or woman win."

She took his arm and he could hear the triumphant smile in her voice as she echoed his sentiments. "May the best man or woman win."


End file.
